Armed with a Korean partner, Frontier Rare Earths plans to put its Zandkopsdrift deposit in South Africa into production by 2016.

Frontier Rare Earths Limited (TSX:FRO) the Toronto-based company that is developing theaZandkopsdrift rare earth element project in South Africa, on Friday provided an update on the project including improvements to its flow sheet outlined in studies completed during the third quarter.a

Frontier has stated that Zandkopsdrift would be one of the first new producers of high-purity, separated rare earth oxides outside China. Frontier is targetting production in 2016, with capacity for 20,000 tonnes per year of separated REE oxides, including critical rare earth oxides (CREOs) dysprosium, terbium, europium, neodymium and yttrium. CREOs tend to be rarer, in higher demand, and therefore fetch higher prices, than the other 12 rare earth elements.

The other feather in Frontier's cap is its joint venture partnership with Korea Resources Corporation (KORES). Under the JV, KORES, a Korean state-owned entity, must fulfill certain milestones to acquire up to a 30 percent interest in the project, in exchange for 31 percent of the mine's production. The JV also invites some of Korea's largest industrial giants, including Samsung, (KRX:005930) Hyundai (KRX:005380)aand Daweoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Group (KRX:042660)ato form a consortium that would purchase rare earths for industrial end uses.

Among the highlights of its update on Friday, Frontier said the prefeasibility study flow sheet is expected to yield a higher proportion of CREOs being produced, resulting in a basket price, once Zandkopsdrift begins production, of $44 per kilogram (current FOB China) compared to an insitu basket price of $36/kg.

"The Company is confident that, taking into account the higher expected capital and operating costs than those in the Preliminary Economic Assessment in Q1 2012 and the pricing premium that can be achieved with the proposed Zandkopsdrift production mix, Frontier remains well positioned to become a major new producer of high purity separated rare earths," Frontier Rare Earths stated in its press release. aShares in the company rose 2.35 percent to close at $0.435 in Toronto on Friday.